New Orleans man accused of hunting down, killing the felon who kidnapped, tortured him

A New Orleans man charged with murder claims that he only shot and killed the man because he had been kidnapped and tortured by him, The Times-Picayunereports.

Jean-Luc Williams faces second-degree murder charges in the shooting death of Karim Peters, whose bullet-riddled body was found in a car on August 7, 2014. Peters had a storied criminal history in the city, having been targeted by other gunman on multiple other occasions.

But it was Williams who confessed to police that he killed Peters after Peters and Billy “White Shoes” Johnson kidnapped and tortured him.

According to Williams, Peters and Johnson lured him to a residence on the pretense of returning some tools. Williams said he had been avoiding Peters, because earlier in July, Peters had borrowed his truck and returned it damaged. He said Peters refused to pay for repairs.

When Williams arrived, he said Peters and Johnson bound his hands and feet, pulled down his pants and proceeded to beat his naked buttocks with a slipper. They then “tried to push a stick” into his rectum, but he was able to fend them off.

He said the pair were recording the assault on a cell phone.

Peters and Johnson then carried him into a back room at the residence and threatened to kill him, shoving a gun in his mouth repeatedly. They also burned him with cigarettes and pulled out his hair. He said they only relented when he agreed to drive them to Sorrento, and that once they exited the vehicle, he sped off.

Williams said he tried to report the attack, but that the police refused to respond in a timely fashion. He said that by the time they did, he was afraid to return to his neighborhood, for fear of running into Peters or Johnson.

The responding officer had no choice but to dismiss the incident, the New Orleans Police Department said, because there was no complainant for the officer to interview.

Williams has been charged with second-degree murder in Peters’ death, and Johnson has been arrested and charged with second-degree kidnapping, sexual battery and a parole violation for his role in Williams’ kidnapping and torture.

About the Author

Scott Eric Kaufman is the proprietor of the AV Club's Internet Film School and, in addition to Raw Story, also writes for Lawyers, Guns & Money. He earned a Ph.D. in English Literature from the University of California, Irvine in 2008.